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Americans Prepare for War

Americans Prepare for War. I. Congress Declares War on April 6, 1917. a. The Germans broke the Sussex pledge and began unrestricted submarine warfare b. The Zimmerman Note outraged the American Public. Rallying the Public.

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Americans Prepare for War

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  1. Americans Prepare for War

  2. I. Congress Declares War on April 6, 1917. a. The Germans broke the Sussex pledge and began unrestricted submarine warfare b. The Zimmerman Note outraged the American Public

  3. Rallying the Public • The War Department planned to spend three billion dollars towards the war • The Committee on Public Information (CPI) was created to raise public support for the war effort • Rallies, posters, and pamphlets were used to persuade Americans to support the war effort.

  4. Hollywood made movies • 75,000 speakers called “four-minute men” gave short patriotic speeches in churches, movie theatres, and schools • The government limited some freedoms

  5. The Espionage Act of 1917 punished people for aiding the enemy or refusing military duty • The government believed that the nation’s war effort would be threatened if dissenters were allowed free speech*** • The Sedition Act of 1918 outlawed actions against the U.S. government

  6. Mobilization for War • Congress passed the Selective Service Actthat required men between the ages of 21 and 30 to register to be drafted into the armed forces (almost 3 million men were drafted)

  7. The gov’t at first limited African American soldiers to noncombat roles • Pressure from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) led the government to form segregated combat units • At home, African Americans faced ongoing discrimination and violence

  8. Women in Wartime • American women also aided the war in France as interpreters, nurses and typists • Although officially not allowed in combat, many female nurses and ambulance drivers worked at the front lines • Women volunteered at home for the Red Cross

  9. Women also filled important industrial jobs and clerical positions • Some 1 million women filled positions in the US Labor Force

  10. Organization for the War • In addition to raising troops, the gov’t needed to raise money and supplies • Congress raised income taxes and started a tax on business profits • Liberty bonds were issued & raised over $20 billion for the US & the Allied forces • The gov’t set price and production controls over food and fuel

  11. Increased food supplies for troops was created • Americans were urged to eat less • After Herbert Hoover took control of the Food Administration, food and farm production, as well as prices increased greatly

  12. During the war, workers took advantage of the labor shortages, demanding higher wages and better working conditions • The National War Labor Board (NWLB) was created to settle disputes between workers and management and to prevent strikes • The NWLB also outlined minimum wage and maximum-hour standards, and required fair pay for female workers

  13. The War Industries Board was created during the war to oversee the production and distribution of goods made by US war industries • The government gets more involved with directing the economy during wartime, as the War Industries Board, the War Labor Board, and the Food Administration were all created for that reason***

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